Refrigerating apparatus



Sept. 5, 1944. N.'-J. SMITH 2,357,362

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS I Filed April 50, 1940 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Sept. 5, I944.-- N. J. SMITH REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheet S -Sheet 2 Filed April 30, 1940 0 I IllllI-I a z r H An Av l a tr l enclosure. Y

1 One object of this invention is to provide a simplified window type air conditioning unit Patented Sept 5, 1944 2,357,362 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Nelson J. Smith, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware I Application April 30,1940, Serial No. 332,471

5 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to a refrigerating unit adapted to be mounted directly on the window sill of an which is quiet and efhcient' in operation.

Another object of this invention. is to provide an improved arrangement for introducing outside air into the, space to be conditioned.

Still another object of this invention is to provide improved air flow through the evaporator and condenser compartments.

, Still another object of this invention is to provide air circulating means which is quiet and efiicientinoperation.

Further objects and advantages of the present vided with an air discharge opening 26 which is provided with louvers 28 for directing the conditioned air upwardly. For purposes of illustration, the louvers have been shown as fixed louvers; whereas, it is within the purview ofthis invention to provide adjustable louvers at the air outlet opening.

As best shown in Fig. 2, conditioned, either fresh air, recirculated air or a mixture of both, enters the" cabinet 2 l through an opening 30 provided in the bottom wall of the cabinet. The air passing through the opening 30 enters the chamber 3| and is then picked up by the'fan which blows the air through a filter element 32 placed next to the evaporator l0.

The air leaving the filter'element 32 passes in invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of 'the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view partly insection showing the arrangement'of. the elements in a preferred modification; I

Fig. 2 is a verticals'ectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown mounted withina window with part of the cabinet broken away'to show the interior arrangement; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view with parts broken away showing a slightly modified windowair condi- 'tioning unit.

- In the preferred arrangement, as disclosedin Figs. '1', 2 and 3, the volatile refrigerant system comprises a refrigerant evaporator ill, a condenser [2, a hermetically sealed motor-compressor unit [4, a blower motor l6 and associated blowers l8 and 20, all of which are carried dithermal exchange relationship with the evaporator l0 before being discharged into the room through the discharge opening 26. Inasmuch as there are times when it is desirable to condition a mixture of recirculated room air and fresh air or fresh air only, a damper 36 has been provided for controlling the flow of air through the air inlet opening 30. The damper 30 is controlled by a slide rod 38 which is frictionally held in adjusted position by the guide bracket secured to the under 'wall of the unit. With the damper 36 in an intermediate position 'a mixture of fresh air and recirculated room air is free to enter the suction chamber 3|. The outside air is permitted to pass between the bottom wall- 22 of the cabinet and the upper surface of the win- .dow sill structure 25. By pulling the rod 38 all the way out, the damper 36 serves to completely close off the the return air, whereby fresh aironly is circulated over the evaporator. All of the air entering the opening 30 is required to pass through the circular fan opening 42 in the rectly by the bottom wall 32 of the main casing. 7

generally designated by the reference numeral 24. The flow of refrigerant from the condenser to the evaporator may be'controlled by any conventionalrefrigerant control such as an expansion valve or a fixed restrictor. The casing 24 is of the type which is adapted to be supported Y upon a window sill such as 25. The bottom wall 22 of the cabinet has secured thereto a pair of supports 23 which space the bottom wall of the cabinet. from the window sill 25' asbest shown in-Fig. 2. The side walls and the top of the main casing may be formed integrally'or may be made up in several sections. The side of the cabinet which faces the space to be conditioned is pro- 55 a It will b noted that vertical wall 44 which forms the.front wall of the chamber 3|.

Inasmuch as the usual type of fan'is not ca- Y pable of circulating large volumes of air without making considerable noise and inasmuch as. the

fan noise in-a window unit is readily transmitted l a I to all parts of the room, a special type of fan'has been provided which employs only two fan' I blades, as shown in Fig. 1. Each fan blade is oi fiat construction and covers substantially onehalf of the fan area. By virtue of this partic ular type of fan construction the frequency of the sound waves set up by the fan when operating at the usual fan speed is. so low as to have practically no effect on the average person's sense of hearing.

the refrizerant liquefying all of the air to be portion of the apparatus is mounted in that portion of the cabinet-projecting outside of the window. Inasmuch as window units of this type depend upon the outside air for dissipating the condenser heat, I have provided a fan I! operated by the motor It for circulating ,air over the motor-compressor l4 and the condenser I2. The outside air enters the motor-compressor compartment 46 through the side openings 48 and then flows outwardly over the condenser II. The rear wall of the cabinet 24 is provided with an air discharge opening 50. The usual refrigerant flow connections are provided between the evaporator, condenser and compressor. Condensate which collects on the evaporator I is collected in the drip pan 52 placed directly beneath the evaporator III. A drain 54 conveys the condensate from thepan 52 to a pin 56 located directly beneath the condenser I2. As the water in the pan 56rises, it comes into con-' tact with the flinger 58 provided on the condenser fan l 8. The flinger 58 serves to atomize the condensate into the condenser air stream whereby much of the condensate is reevapoa rated as the air flows in thermal exchange rela partment.

tionship with the condenser.

As shown in Fig. 1, all of the air circulated by and stopped by means of a manually operated switch 10 provided with an operating button ll placed so as to be accessible from the front of the unit immediately below the evaporator.

In Fig. 4 I have disclosed a slightly modified arrangement in which the-fan motor I5 is centrally located within the cabinet and in which two hermetically sealed motor-compressor units 80 and 82 are provided in parallel for compressing the refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator. In the arrangement disclosed in Fig.4 the outside condenser cooling air enter the cabinet through the side portions 84 and 86 of the condenser unit and is discharged through the center opening 88 after having been circulated over the hermetically sealed motor-compressor units. The arrangeopening, and means for controlling the ratio of fresh air and recirculated air flowing through said air inlet. a v

- 2. An air conditioning unit of the type adapted to be supported on thewindow sill of an enclosure, a cabinet, means for spacing the bottom wall of said cabinet from said window sill, means for dividing said cabinet into a refrigerant evaporating compartment and a refrigerant liquefying compartment, an evaporator within said evaporating compartment, refrigerant liquefying means including a condenser within said liquefying compartment, means for circulating outside air in over one portion of said condenser and out over another portion of said condenser, means for circulating air to be conditioned through said evaporator compartment, said last namedmeans comprising an air inlet opening inthe bottom wall of said cabinet, and means for introducing outside air into said enclosure through the space between the bottom wall of said cabinet and said window sill.

3. In a window air conditioning unit, a cabinet adapted to be disposed within the window of a room, means for dividing said cabinet into an evaporator compartment and a refrigerant lique-.

to said evaporator mounted within said refrigerant lique'fying compartment, means including a.

blower for circulating room air over said'evaporator and out into the space to be conditioned,. "means for introducing outside air into said .evaporator compartment and for directing the outside air in thermal exchange with said evaporator ,-.comprising a raised portion at the bottom of the .ment for controlling the flow of inside and outside air into the evaporator compartment is the same in this modification ,as in the modification shown in Figs. 1 through 3'and therefore-needs no further description. The same reference characters have been used to designate corresponding parts in both modifications.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a, preferred form,

I it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope which'follow.

What is claimed is as follows: 9 1. In a window air conditioning unit, a cabinet adapted to be disposed directly within the window opening, a refrigerant evaporator within said 'ing refrigerant to said evaporator mounted with cabinet, refrigerant liquefying means for supplyin said cabinet, an air inlet opening in'the bottom ofsaid cabinet, blower means for circulating air in through said opening over said evaporator and out into the space to be conditioned, means for introducing outside into said air inlet of the claims refrigerant liquefying compartment for admitting outside air into the cabinet from beneath said cabinet, said raised portion including an opening leading into said evaporator compartment.

4. In a window air conditioning unit, a cabinet adapted to be disposed -'directly within the window opening, a refrigerant evaporator within said cabinet, refrigerant liquefying means for supplying refrigerant to said evaporator mounted within said cabinet, a recirculated air inlet opening in the bottom of said cabinet, blower means for circulating air in through said opening over said evaporator and out into-the space to be conditioned, and means for introducin outside air into said air inlet openingwhereby said outside air is cooled and discharged into the space to be conditioned. J

5. In an air conditioning unit of the type adapted to be supported on the window sill of an enclosure, a cabinet, means for spacing portion "of the bottom wall of said cabinet from said win- .inlet opening in the bottom wall of said cabinet,

and means for introducing outside'air into said enclosure through the spacebetweenthe bottom wall of said cabinet and said window sill.

4 .IIEI.|SON'J.SMI'I'H. 

